denton



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Shet 1.

C. E. BENTON. BUTTON ATTAGHING MACHINE.

Patented July 26, 1892.

WITNESSES: INVENTOI? E 7 aka/B yrlesltflen Z520.

A 7' 7' OR/VE Y.

(No Model.) 2 Shets-Sheet 2.

G. E. BENTON.

- BUTTON ATTAGHING MACHINE. No. 479,705. Patented July 26, 1892.

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WITNESSES: l/VI/E/VTOI? ATTORNEY. I

. Nrrnn STATES ATENT FFIQE.

CHARLES E. DENTON, OF ATTICA, KANSAS, ASSIGNOR T IDA M. DENTON, OF SAMEPLACE.

IBUTTON-ATTACHING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 479,705, dated July 26,1892. Application filed March 12, 1891. Renewed June 29, 1892. SerialNo. 438,376. (No model.)

Q i To a, whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES E. DENTON, a

citizen of the United States of America, re-

siding at Attica, in the county of Harper and State of Kansas, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Button-StaplingMachines, of which the following is a specification, reference being hadtherein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to button-stapling machines, having for itsobject the production of a machine of this class which shall becontinuous in operation, simple in construction, and composed of aminimum number of parts.

The invention comprises a stapling -machine having a spring-impelledwire-holder, a vertically-moving cutting and bending bar or plate, astaple-forming bar or mandrel, and a clinching bar or block, alloperated through the agency of a single wheel and its shaft.

The invention further comprises the detail construction, combination,and arrangement of parts, substantially as hereinafter fully set forth,and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of myimproved stapling-machine with parts broken away. Fig.

2 is a front view thereof, the button hopper and chute being removed.Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of details. Fig. 4 is a similar view of thefoot-treadle and its adjuncts. Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view onthe 5 line a; 00, Fig. 2. Fig. 6 is a detail view showing connection ofbutton-tube to base-plate. Fig. 7 is a detail View of a modification.

Referring to the drawings, A designates a vertically-disposed frame orsupport, and Cb a 4.0 lower horizontal plate rigidly secured to orformed with said frame, and this plate is rigidly attached to asupporting stand or table (not shown) of any suitable shape. Thevertical frame A is perpendicular on its front face and curved on itslower rear portion.

B is the cutting and bending bar or plate, capable of moving vertically.This bar or plate is held in place by two screws 1), projected throughslots 1) thereof and secured to frame A, and by this means the bar orplate is held as against lateral movement. From the lower end of thisbar or plate B project two parallel arms I) I), having grooves orrecesses 12 in their inner opposite edges and similar grooves 12 intheir lower ends for holding the staple ends. The outer lower edge ofarm I) is inclined or angled, and is coincident with a removablestationary knife I), secured to the top of the front edge of plate a,and the same, in connection with arm 19, serves to cut or sever thewire. The plate a is preferably thickened where knife b is secured, soas to elevate the point of severance of the wire.

Ois the operating-shaft, mounted in frame A, and upon one end isrigidlysecuredawheel d, to which is connected the lower slotted end of apitman d, the other end of said pitman being connected by a pin 61 tothe bar or plate B, whereby the latter receives its up-anddown movement.Aboutthree-fourthsof the 7b periphery of this wheel is provided withcogs or teeth 01 and at the ends of such toothed portion are pins orshoulders 61 01 From shaft 0 projects a lug 6, located within frame A,and to the outer end of said shaft is secured a short hand-lever D, bywhich themachine may be operated directly by hand. It is, however,preferred to operate by foot-power, and hence to this hand-lever isconnected the upper end of a rod 6, which at its lower end is connectedto a foot-treadle E, fulcrumed to one of the legs to of stand W. Acoil-spring e bearing on the legs to and against a crosspin of rod 6,serves to return the parts to their normal position and hold the treadleelevated. F is the clincher bar or block whose vertical side edges fitwithin the grooves or recesses b of bar or plate B. In the lower half ofthe bar or block F is formed a vertical slot f. A cross bar or plate fis secured to the front of bar or block F and its projecting ends engagepins f in the front face of arms I) b, whereby the said bar or block ismoved upward with the cutting and bending bar or plate. From the rear ofthis bar or block pro- 5 jects a flange or shoulder f with which lug eof shaft 0 is designed to engage.

WVithin the lower end of frame A is a horizontally-disposed stapleformer or mandrel G, which consists of a T-shaped bar moving too inopposite grooves or recesses g in the side plates of frame A. This barhas a forward reduced end g, around which the staple is formed, and fromthe under side thereof projects a short arm g with which the pins orshoulders d d of wheel d will engage, thereby moving the saidstaple-former alternately frward and backward. This bar or mandrel alsoserves as a temporary support. for the button and staple and clincherbaror block during the initial operation of forming the staple. To theunder side of frame A is rigidly secured one end of an arm or support H,to the forward end of which is attached a die 71., upon which the stapleis clinched, the same being directly beneath and in the path of theclincher bar or block.

ll is a button hopper or receptacle; h", a shaft passed transverselytherethrough h', a jointed picker arm or finger secured on said shaftand having an outer pointed end; 71 a pinion on one end of, said shaft,and 71 a rack bar or rod held by keepers k and engaging the teeth ofpinion 7L2 and Wheel d. By means .of this wheel (I and the rack-barmotion is imthrough the slot of the latter.

parted to the shaft and picker arm or finger.

I is a supply-tube suitably secured at its upper end to thebutton-receptacle H, and at its lower end it is provided with a plate 1,preferably formed therewith, and through which screws are passed forholding the lower end of the tube against the front edge of plate a.Said tube is slightly curved at its ends, and the upper end is projectedup into and just above the upper portion of said hopper. In the rearwall of this tube is a continuous slot 2' for the button-shanks, and tothe front of said tube, at its lower end, is attached a flat spring 11,which presses against the lower button in the tube, thus holding thesaid button in the exact position to which it may be forced by the upperterminus of the slot in the clincher bar or block until the wire ispassed through the shank of the button and the bar or block is forceddownward, carrying the button with it, during which time the force ofthe spring is still against the button. The weight of the buttons in thetube will force the next button along and cause its shank to projectinto slot f, and at this point the pressure of the spring will bebrought to bear upon it, (the lower button having passed from under thesame), and the shank of said next or second button will be engaged bythe upper terminus of the slot and forced to exact position forreception of the next section of the wire. In this manner a continuoussupply of buttons is had, each button being in position for the shank toreceive the wire. The revolution of the shaft h and the picker arm orfinger causes the latter in its back-and-forth movement to engage theshanks of buttons in the receptacle and carry the latter up and allowthem to slide off into the upper end of the supply-tube, the shanks ofthe buttons being projected While in certain revolutions possiby nobuttons will be gathered by the picker arm or finger, yet in others alarge quantity thereof are secured, and in this manner a uniform supplyis obtained.

To the front edge of plate a is secured a wire-feeding device J. Thesame consists of a tubej and a block j, wherein is fulcrumed aclutch-lever j having a lower weighted end j whereby the upper pointedend of said lever is made to bind firm against the wire as, which ispassed longitudinally through the tube j, and the forward movementoccurs only as the wire is out and used. Against this block j bears oneend of a coil-spring 7' the other end of which bears against the outerend of tube j. This spring impels the block and its clutch-leverforward, and in this manner the wire is fed beneath the arms of thecutting and bending bar and also under the clinching-bar. The forwardmovement of the Wire is limited by the extreme end thereof being incontact with the inner face of wheel (1. When block j reaches the fullextent of its movement, the operator disengages the leverj from contactwith the wire and forces said block backward as against the action ofthe coil-spring, and upon allowing the lever to drop to its normalposition its upper end will again engage and bite against the wire. Ifthe wire should fail to pass through the shank of a button, it can bequickly drawn back by simply pushing the block, carebeing taken not toloosen the clutch.

Adjacent the forward end of tube j is the stationary knife 19 whichlatter is provided with aninverted-V-shaped lug or crest 70. Immediatelyabove this knife is a small plate 70', pivoted at its inner end anddesigned when in its normal position to form a guide or passage way forthe wire. This plate has a groove or recess corresponding with the lugor crest. A lug or projection k secured to one side edge of the barorplate B, is designed at each operation to engage and bear upon themovable plate It and force the same down upon the knife, whereby a kinkis formed in that portion of the wire which is to engage the shank ofthe button next provided with a staple. In lieu of the movable plate 70'the lug k can be located near the end of aunt, and extended to serve inplace of said plate, the same results being thereby secured.

The operation of my improved button setting or stapling, machine will beunderstood from the following. (See Fig. 7.) The button hopper orreceptacle is first supplied with bottons and the feed or supply tubefilled with the latter, the lower one of which buttons has its shankextended into the slot of the clincher bar or block and so held by thespring. The wire is inserted through the shank of the first button,-andthe kink therein engages said shank. The operator by bearing downdirectly on the hand-lever or pressing on the foot-treadle will forcethe cutting and bending bar or plate downward, and in connection withthe stationary knife the wire will be cut diagonally, leavinga pointthereon. The further movement of this cutting and bending bar or plate Bcarries the button and its wire downward until the latter bears upon thebar or mandrel G, and at this point the button and clincher bar or blockare temporarily stopped, while the wire is bent around the mandrel toform the staple. The clincher bar or block will then be resting on saidbar or mandrel, and the instant the lug e on the shaft 0 engagesshoulder f of said clincher bar or block the bar or mandrel G is movedrearward out of the way by reason of pin or shoulder d of wheel 01coming in contact with arm 9 As the latter reaches the extent of itsmovement the lower end of the pitman will have reached the limit of itsmovement;

but the slot in said pitman will allow the cut-.

ting and bending bar or plate to stand stationary while the lug e onshaft 0 forces the clincher bar or block farther down and clinches thestaple around the button-shank, which is then supported on the die ofarm H. The upper end of the slot f has then for some time been incontact with the shank of the next following button, which is then inexact position for the wire to pass through when the parts are elevated.The latteris effectedby the raising of the hand-lever, and the bar ormandrel G is returned to its forward position by pin or shoulder cl, ofwheeld engaging with the arm of said bar or mandrel. The device is thenin position for the above operation to be repeated. As the cutting andbending bar or plate was lowered in forming the first staple the wirewas kinked by the plate lo, and hence said wire is ready for the nextbutton. Thus it will be seen that in each operation the wire is cut andbent in one movement of the cutting and bending bar or plate, the stapleis firmly clinched, a second button is fed, the Wire is kinked ready forsaid second button, and is automatically fed forward and insertedthrough the eye or shank of such button. A staplingmachine constructedas herein described is extremely simple, cheap and durable, and freefrom all complication, and in its entire structure only two springs areemployed. It is also positive in its movement and there is little or nodanger of its failing to fully perform all its'functions at eachoperation.

I claim as my invention- 1. The herein-described improved.buttonstapling machine, comprising the supply-tube, the clincher bar orblock having a slot therein, the cutting and bending bar or plate, themovable bar or mandrel, the shaft, the wheel secured thereon and havingpins or shoulders projecting therefrom and engaging said bar or mandrel,and the stationary arm or support having a clinching-die at its outerend, substantially as set forth.

2. The herein-described improved buttonstapling machine, comprising thesupply-tube, the clincher bar or block having a slot coin= cident withthe lower end of said tube and a cross-bar having projecting ends, themovable cutting and bending bar or plate having front projecting pinswith which the ends of said cross-bar engage so as to be moved thereby,the sliding bar or mandrel, the stationary arm or support, and the meansfor moving said cutting and bending bar and mandrel, sub-' stantially asset forth. 3. The herein-described improved staplingmaohine, comprisingthe operating-shaft having a lug secured thereon, the supply-tube havinga slot therein for the button-shanks and a lower open end, the springsecured to said latter end, the movable clincher bar or block providedwith a vertical slot and'a flange or shoulder and having a temporary 7support, a rigid arm or support carrying a clinching-die at its outerend, and means for cutting and bending the wire, said clincher bar orblock having an additional movement after the staple is formed and thetemporary support is withdrawn by reason of contact of said lug withsaid flange or shoulder, substantially as set forth.

4. The herein-described improved buttonstapling machine, comprising theframe or support, the stationary knife secured thereto having an obliqueend, the movable cutting and bending bar secured to said frame andhaving lower parallel arms, one of which at its lower end conforms tosaid stationary knife, the clincher bar or block loosely mounted betweensaid arms of the cutting and bending bar, the movable mandrel located inthe lower end of said frame or support, the stationaryarm or supporthaving a clinchingdie at its outer end, the shaft engaging said clincherbar or block, the wheel on said shaft having pins or shoulders engagingsaid bar or mandrel, and the pitman connected to said wheel and to saidcutting and bending bar, substantially as set forth.

5. The herein-described improved buttonstapling machine, comprising theframe or support, the movable cutting and bending bar secured to saidframe, the stationary knife having a lug or crest, the clincher bar orblock loosely secured to said cutting and bending bar, the mandrelmovable beneath said clincher bar or block, the spring-impelledwire-feeding device, and the movable. plate having a groove or recesscorresponding to said lug or crest for forming a kink in the wire, andmeans for moving said cuttingand bending bar and bar or mandrel,substantially as set forth.

6. In a button-stapling machine, the wirefeeding device hereindescribed, consisting of the tube, the block therein through which thewire is passed, the weighted lever engaging said wire, and the springbearing against said block and impelling the same forward, substantiallyas set forth.

'7. The herein-described improved buttonstapling-machine, comprising theframe or support, the movable cutting and bending bar secured theretoand having lower parallel arms, the stationary knife, the clincher baror block located between said parallel arms and having a cross bar orplate engaging studs or pins on the front of said arms and also having ashoulder projecting from its rear side, the shaft having a lug designedto engage said shoulder, the bar or mandrel moving in the lower end ofsaid frame or support and having a forward reduced end designedtoproject between said parallel arms and form a temporary support for saidclincher bar or block and provided with an arm or projection on oneside, the wheel secured on said shaft,having two pins or shoulders forengaging said arm or projection, the pitman secured at its upper end tosaid cutting and bending bar and having a lower slotted end connected tosaid wheel, and the rigid arm or support having a clinching-die beneathsaid clincher-bar or block, substantially as set forth.

presence of two 8. In a button-stapling machine, the combination, withthe frame or support, of the button receptacle or chamber, the feed orsupply tube leading therefrom and having a slot therein and a lower openend, the springplate secured to said lower end, the shaft having apinion in one end, the picker arm

